Best of the City 2016

Best of the City 2016 Essential outdoor escapes. Favorite eats. Killer skyline views. Top cultural picks. Here are some of the things that make Portland awesome.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

VISUAL ART

This Exhibit Will Tell You Everything You Need to Know about Oregon Art Right Now

The Portland Biennial is on fire.

06/13/2016 By Fiona McCann

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: Seven Curators and Creators Share Top Picks from Portland’s Arts Scene

From in-your-face theater to a bold magazine for women guitarists, here are some of Portland’s best things to watch, hear, and read.

06/13/2016 By Fiona McCann and Rebecca Jacobson

THE ESSENTIALS

M. Ward to Tin House Readings: July’s Pop Culture Hot List

The concert, reading series, and book you can’t miss this month.

06/13/2016 By Fiona McCann

B-SIDES

How Rapper Cool Nutz and Trail Blazer CJ McCollum Make Great Radio in Tigard

Every week, the local hip-hop godfather and shooting guard dish on their favorite jams—and the off-court life of a rising NBA star.

06/13/2016 By Casey Jarman

Best of the City

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: Celebrating Portland’s Greatest People, Places, and Things

Essential outdoor escapes. Favorite eats. Killer skyline views. Top cultural picks. Here are some of the things that make Portland awesome.

06/13/2016 Edited by Zach Dundas

Eat & Drink

RECIPE

Marionberries: Sweet, Savory, and Marvelously Drinkable

In our minds (and mouths), Oregon’s most distinguished berry is the marion. Here are three ways to tap into its soul.

06/15/2016 By Benjamin Tepler

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

NE Sandy Boulevard Is Portland’s Best Cheap Eats Drive–Thru

Barren shortcut no more, Sandy is home to a handful of hot new food hubs and some stalwart Portland gems.

06/13/2016 By Kelly Clarke

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: 11 Portland Eats, Spots, and Sips We Can’t Resist Right Now

Iced matcha-chai lattes to killer pastrami sandwiches, here are some of our city’s most delicious things.

06/13/2016 By Kelly Clarke, Eden Dawn, Marty Patail, Benjamin Tepler, Karen Brooks, and Rachel Ritchie

DONUTSTROLOGY

Everything about Portland Can Be Summed Up with Doughnuts

Voodoo to Pip’s to Blue Star, our city’s soul is exemplified by fried dough.

06/13/2016 By Kelly Clarke

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

PDX Essentials: Quadrant by Quadrant, All the Things We Can’t Live Without

Secret beaches to art deco splendor to OG dive bars, here are some of our favorite things in every corner of Portland.

06/13/2016 By Portland Monthly Staff

WORD OF MOUTH

These Are Four of Portland’s Most Delicious Lunch Destinations

From Kim Jong Grillin’s Korean short ribs to Maurice’s gorgeous sandwiches, here are our some of our city’s greatest midday meals.

06/13/2016 By Karen Brooks

Health & Wellness

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: Portland’s Top Workouts and Most Nourishing Eats

Small-batch fitness—check! Body-positive waxing salons—check! Vegan happy hours—check!

06/13/2016 By Tuck Woodstock

Home & Real Estate

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: Four Great New Spaces in Portland

From awesome offices to tower condos to an easygoing park, the latest additions to Portland’s landscape are sights to behold.

06/13/2016 By Marty Patail

News & City Life

EDITOR'S NOTE

Why Places Like 182nd Avenue Are Just as ‘Portland’ as Anywhere Else in the City

Want to get a TV fixed, a Russian salami, and a king-sized beer? Look for the metro area’s forgotten corners.

06/13/2016 By Zach Dundas

DISPATCH

Can This Bold Vision of Black Entrepreneurship Reverse Gentrification in Portland?

The proposed Soul District aims to reshape inner North and Northeast Portland.

06/13/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson

Q&A

Why Portland Thorn Tobin Heath Fights for More

The Thorns’ midfield magician (and USA National Team star) talks Portland, pay equity, and personal growth.

06/13/2016 By Katelyn Best

5 THINGS ABOUT

Here’s What You Need to Know about the Portland Farmers Market

1992 to now, our downtown market provides produce for the people.

06/13/2016 By Caitlin Collins

BIG WAVES

Is a Water Park Coming to Willamette Falls?

Oregon City might be the next Splash Mountain.

06/13/2016 By Marty Patail

ESSAY

Can This Giant Suburban Bunny Statue Survive?

Harvey the rabbit stands for whimsy amid the bleak strip malls of Aloha.

06/13/2016 By Leah Sottile

BIG IDEAS

Oregon’s Innovators Light Up Tech, Art, Business, History, the Cityscape—and the Future

From vanished ancient coasts to singing buildings to eco-drones, Oregonians break revolutionary ground.

06/13/2016 Edited by Zach Dundas By Benjamin Tepler, Rebecca Jacobson, Ramona DeNies, Fiona McCann, Eden Dawn, Chad Walsh, Marty Patail, Kelly Clarke, and Andrew D'Cruz

PREHISTORY

Does Oregon's Vanished Coastline Hold the Secrets of the First Americans?

Archaeologist Loren Davis has a radical theory about when (and where) humans first arrived on our continent.

06/13/2016 By Benjamin Tepler

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A Furry, Confused, Emotionally Demanding Robot Is Wandering the Halls of Wieden & Kennedy

It's basically the best thing ever.

06/13/2016 By Zach Dundas

TECHNOLOGY

The Luxury, Handmade, Limited-Edition Open-Source Laptop That Could Outlive You

The wood-encased Novena Heirloom is a hacker’s dream machine.

06/13/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson

SONIC ARCHITECTURE

These Sonic Installations Provide a Soundtrack to the World

Portland composer Ethan Rose translates the natural world.

06/13/2016 By Chad Walsh

PDX AIRPORT

The Portland International Airport Is Portland’s Most Portland Neighborhood

Mini movie theater to bike tool shed, lactation rooms to tasting rooms: PDX is the best.

06/13/2016 By Marty Patail

OFFICE LIFE

This Shared Portland Office Could Save Our Souls (and Our Wallets)

The XOXO Outpost—a new pay-what-you-can shared workspace—is home to 65 handpicked creatives.

06/13/2016 By Andrew D'Cruz

BIG IDEAS

Six Oregon-Hatched Ideas That Could Change the World

Eco-drones to avant-garde aerobics, these projects showcase the best of local innovation.

06/13/2016 By Eden Dawn, Ramona DeNies, Rebecca Jacobson, and Fiona McCann

PROFILE

Meet the Man Who Reinvented Nike, Seduced Adidas, and Helped Make Portland the Sports Gear Capital of the World

In the 1980s glory days of audacious deals and bold schemes, Rob Strasser was the big man on campus.

06/13/2016 By David Wolman

THE SHAKEDOWN

What’s the Deal with Dan Staton?

The Multnomah County Sheriff will soon retire after some… unpleasantness.

06/13/2016 By Marty Patail

Style & Shopping

PDX INDEX

What Does a Union Mean for Burgerville?

Employees of the beloved Northwest fast-food chain want raises, health insurance, and paid parental leave.

06/13/2016 By Claire Colby

MONEY

These Portland-Made Gold Certificates Could Be an Alt-Currency Treasure Trove

A way to accumulate gold, for the rest of us.

06/13/2016 By Brandon Staley

WINNING FINDS

From Spectacular Cast-Iron Pans to Gorgeous Hand-Printed Wallpaper, Portland’s Makers Are Outdoing Themselves

This month’s hottest locally made goods.

06/13/2016 By Claire Colby

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: 11 of Portland’s Most Stylish Things

Vintage Moroccan rugs to chill-vibes loungewear: these are our favorite things to wear, buy, and be inspired by.

06/13/2016 By Eden Dawn

Travel & Outdoors

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: Seven Essential Outdoor Escapes in Portland

Resplendent picnic views to car-free cycling—lucky for us, natural wonder is always close at hand.

06/13/2016 By Ramona DeNies